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People Share How They've Won And Lost The Genetic Lottery

It's a game of give and take.

Human beings are curious creatures. We are always struggling between two sides of the coin--light and dark, mean and nice, toxic and healthy, etc. And our gene pool seems to be no exception: what genes have given, genes will taketh away. Let's find out some more about each other's genetic wins and shortcomings.

u/vectormessiah asked:

How did you simultaneously win and lose the genetic lottery?

Here were the answers.

Attributes Up

South-east asian:

+100 resistance to redness from sun exposure

-100 resistance to redness from alcohol

A Hivey Life

Allergic to everything but latex and food.

Deadly, But Not?

My colleague told me a story about growing up in Burundi and his mother having sickle cell anaemia.

I tried to be sympathetic, but he said it was not viewed as completely terrible as it made her immune to the Malaria epidemic that was going on at the time.

A Ways To Go

It looks like puberty doesn't even know my name, so I still have very little acne, a tiny boy, and a really high voice for a guy. Although, people always tell my I have really beautiful eyes.(kind of greenish gray)

The Gag

I don't have a gag reflex... very useful and very deadly. I can choke and not know until it's too late

As One Sense Goes

I'm the only person in my family with perfect eyesight, but I'm also the only person who doesn't have a sense of smell.

Smol

28-inch inseam.

Good: even the worst economy class flight is no big deal.

Bad: finding pants that fit and ladies that wanted to get into them.

Ugly Or Unhealthy?

I'm very healthy with no genetic disorders or diseases, but look wise i ain't doing so well

Quite A List Of Things

I look younger than I am (still get ID'd despite being in my 30s), and don't need to shave as often as most other men... basically I'm a baby faced assassin.

But I've ankylosing spondylitis, crohn's disease, osteoporosis, recurring uveitis, am losing my hair, and am all of 5ft tall because my back is collapsing (I was never tall to begin with, 5'5" peak height).

Fibromy-WHAT?

I am tall and creative, and I have a connective tissue disorder which has been causing me problems for my entire life. Apparently this means I get to look forward to constant pain once I'm older. Yaaaay, and sorry dad I'm never passing this onto another generation.

Butter

I never get sick. Ever.

My natural cholesterol is so high, you could spread my blood on toast.

A Heart Full Of Stuff

Doing great in my Electrical Engineering program - Father died from his 2nd heart attack at 36, most of the men on that side of the family are dead by their mid 40's despite being active and dietary conscious. Fortunately I have a great cardiologist and many advances have been made - so fingers crossed.

Guys - don't think because you are "fit" you are automatically safe.

Fearsome.

I practically never vomit: I think maybe once in the past twenty years, and even then it was barely a vomit at all. No matter how rough I feel, I can always prevent myself from throwing up.

The flipside is that I also never burp, which means all that gas has to go somewhere. The result? I have some fearsome toots.

BuBoNix

Infertile and have stomach and lung issues, but in return I'm immune to the plague. So if y'all ever need anyone to fight those plague carrying squirrel bastards in the Grand Canyon, I am your guy.

Dat Back

Tall, not bad looking, fairly muscular but have a very high propensity to develop back problems. My lower back is a mess and I'm only in my mid-20s.

Everybody's Gotta Have 'Em

Having nice breasts but being a man.

Healthy But Recovering

I had cancer.

Also I'm 6'3 225 lbs and played college football on scholarship sooooo not sure if i have a net gain or loss.

But Can You Use Them?

I am considered to have gorgeous eyes, they are my best feature. However, I have absolutely terrible vision; near/far sighted with astigmatism. I cannot recognize my own mother from five feet away.

Can't Focus

My hearing is so good my brain can't keep up with it. I regularly shock people by overhearing what they're saying from extreme distances, but as a result of picking up every piece of ambient noise I often find it difficult to understand what the person in front of me is saying.

Tiny Tiny

Lose (working on how I feel about myself)? Everything about me is tiny. Puberty grazed me, then left the building. Often get mistaken for a child.

Win? I rarely get ill, and when I do, its never horrible. My immune system seems rather decent.

People Describe The Most Traumatizing Thing They Ever Experienced As A Child

Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay

Life is hard. It's a miracle to make it through with some semblance of sanity. We are all plagued by grief and trauma. More and more people of all backgrounds are opening up about personal trauma and its origins. Finally! For far too long we've been too silent on this topic. And with so many people unable to afford mental health care, the outcomes can be damaging.

All of our childhoods have ups and downs and memories that can play out like nightmares. We carry that, or it follows us and the first step in recovery is talking about it. So who feels strong enough to speak?

Redditor u/nthn_thms wanted to see who was willing to share about things they'd probably rather forget, by asking:

What's the most traumatizing thing you experienced as a child?
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childhood

People Divulge The Real Reason Why They're Still Single

Image by klimkin from Pixabay

Being single can be fun. In fact, in this time of COVID, being single can save lives. But the heart is a fickle creature.

And being alone can really suck in times of turmoil. None of us are perfect and it feels like that's all anyone is looking for... perfect.

Now that doesn't mean that all of us are making it difficult to partner up. Sure, some people are too picky and mean-spirited, but some of the rest of us are crazy and too much to handle. So one has to be sure.

The truth is, being single is confusing, no matter how much we try to match. So let's try to understand...

Redditor u/Mcxyn wanted to discuss some truths about love and our own issues, by asking:

Why are you single?
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being single

Chefs Divulge The Most Important Tips That Amateur Cooks Need To Know

Tiard Schulz/Unsplash

Whether you're an at home parent, a college student just leaving the nest, or a Food Network junkie, there are a few basic tips that everyone should know.

Chef's gave us some of their top tips for amateurs and beginner at home cooks that will really make a difference. They are trained professionals with years of experience in the kitchen, so they definitely know what we're all missing.

If you're looking to improve some of your cooking skills and techniques, but you're still learning how to boil water correctly, this list is for you.

Redditor BigBadWolf44 wanted in on the secrets and asked:

"Chefs of Reddit, what's one rule of cooking amateurs need to know?"

Let's learn from the masters!


What a common mistake!

"A lot of the time when people add salt to a dish because they think it tastes flat, what it really needs is an acid like lemon juice or vinegar."

- Vexvertigo

"Instructions unclear I drugged my dinner party guests and now they're high on acid."

- itsyoboi_human

"Yes! Or tomatoes. They're pretty acidic too and go with so many things. Our dinners are so much better once the garden tomatoes are ripe. Or if a dish is too acidic, oil/butter or a little sugar can help add balance to it."

- darkhorse85

"Like tomato and eggs. Every Chinese mom makes those slightly differently and I haven't had a tomato egg dish I didn't like yet."

- random314

"There's a book called 'Salt Fat Acid Heat' that comes highly recommended to amateur cooks."

- Osolemia

"Reading even just the first chapter about salt made a lot of food I cooked immediately better, because I finally understood salt wasn't just that thing that sat on the dinner table that you applied after the meal was cooked."

- VaultBoy42

"Salt is important for sweets. A batch of cookies without that little hint of salt doesn't taste quite right."

- Osolemia

Unfortunately, this tip might not be accessible to everyone. Many people who contracted COVID can no longer use their sense of smell the way they used to.

"Have a friend that lost his smell from COVID, and now he only recognizes if food is salty, sweet, sour or bitter."

- AlphaLaufert99

"Just wait until he gets his sense of smell back and a ton of foods smell like ammonia or literal garbage now. Yeah, that's fun... It's been 7 months for f*cks sake just let me enjoy peanut butter again!!!!!!!!!"

- MirzaAbdullahKhan

You can't take back what you've already put in.

"You can always add, but you cannot take away."

- El_Duende666

"I find people's problems usually are they're too scared to add rather than they add too much."

- FreeReflection25

"I see you also grew up white in the mid-west."

- Snatch_Pastry

Safety first!

"Not really a cooking tip, but a law of the kitchen: A falling knife has no handle."

- wooddog

"I'm always so proud of my reflexes for not kicking in when I fumble a knife."

"If I drop anything else, my stupid hands are all over themselves trying to catch it (and often failing). But with a knife the hardwired automatic reaction is jump back immediately. Fingers out of the way, feet out of the way, everything out of the way. Good lookin out, cerebellum!"

- sonyka

"Speaking of KICKING in. On first full time cooking job I had a knife spin and fall off the counter. My (stupid) reflex was to put my foot under it like a damn hacky sack to keep it from hitting the ground. Went through the shoe, somehow between my toes, into the sole somehow without cutting me. Lessons learned: (1) let it fall; (2) never set a knife down close to the edge or with the handle sticking out; (3) hacky sack is not nearly as cool as it could be."

- AdjNounNumbers

"Similarly, NEVER put out a grease or oil fire with water. Smother with a lid or dump baking soda in there (do not use flour, as it can combust in the air making things worse)."

- Metallic_Substance

How else will you know it tastes good?

"Taste the food."

- OAKRAIDER64

"Also don't be afraid to poke and prod at it. I feel like people think the process is sacred and you can't shape/flip/feel/touch things while you cook them. The more you are hands on, the more control you have."

"No, this does not include situations where you are trying to sear something. Ever try flipping a chicken thigh early? That's how you rip a chunk out of it and leave it glued to the pan until it's burnt."

- Kryzm

Here's one just for laughs.

"When you grab a pair of tongs, click them a few times to make sure they are tongs."

- Kolshdaddy

"People really overlook this one. You've gotta tong the tongs a minimum of 3 times to make sure they tong, or else it can ruin the whole dish."

- BigTimeBobbyB

If you're looking to get into cooking or to improve you technique, pay attention to these few tips.

Salt generously, add an acid to brighten things up, and don't forget to taste your food!

If all else fails, you can always order take out.

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cooking

People Describe The Most Inappropriate Thing They Ever Did As A Kid

Victoria_Borodinova/Pixaba

As part of the learning process, children often do embarrassing things before they learn a little more about the world and all the different implications therein. While the inappropriate moment is usually minor and ends in laugher some instances are truly mortifying.

One such instance involved a little sister who was around 6 at the time. It was the 90s and at the height of the youth-focused PSAs (think the frying egg representing your brain). One type was a safety PSA about stranger danger. The speaker would remind the children that if a stranger tried to take you anywhere to yell “Stop, you're not my mommy/daddy" to raise the alarm.

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